05/27/2012

This summer I will have a reduced teaching schedule— I am taking some time to revap this site and merge it with my yoga site. I will be traveling more (hello Wanderlust!), and doing some more yoga training, so watch this space for updates!

This site will be moving to wordpress, along with my yoga site, just in time for me to lauch a new meditation product this summer (and maybe more)! Soon www.emily-perry.com and www.emilyperryyoga.com with land you in the same space.

Tonic herbs, plants that nourish and sustain our energy and vitality, have been used throughout the ages by sages to nourish and enhance one's life energy. Tonic Herbalism can aid the modern yogi and meditator in not only deepening one's practice, but by enhancing longevity, building strength and resistance to illness, and through cultivating the sattvic quality of steadiness and ease we work towards on the yogic path.

In this workshop we will explore the Three Treasures of Chinese Medicine (energy, essence, and spirit), and other energetic concepts from Classical Chinese Medicine. We will discuss the needs of yoga practitioners and meditators, problems that often arise, and tonic herbal solutions that will help any yogi or meditator on their journey towards a deeper, more fulfilling practice.

03/15/2012

"In order not to leave any traces, when you do something, you should do it with your whole body and mind; you should be concentrated on what you do. You should do it completely, like a good bonfire. You should not be a smokey fire. You should burn yourself completely. If you do not burn yourself completely, a trace of yourself will be left in what you do. You will have something remaining that is not completely burned out." ~ Suzuki Roshi, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Leaving no trace means releasing our attachment, our preconceived ideas. Leaving no trace means we can still remember what we did, but we don't have to carry it around with us. We are then free to drop into the present moment, and be with what is instead of what was.

According to the Yoga Sutras, yoga is concerned with the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind (I.2: Yogas citta-vritti-nirodhah: Yoga is the stilling of the changing states of the mind). These fluctuations, the vrittis, are are our thoughts, memories, experiences— the workings of the mind— and are recorded in the mind (the citta) as imprints, or samskaras.

How we experience the world is therefore dependent on these samsakras: they color our view. They are the glasses through which we view the world and compare our experience, giving us a frame of reference.

One type of vrittii mentioned in the sutras is right knowledge. Now what does Patanjali mean by that? Right knowledge would be considered a positive vritti, one that could lead us on the path towards samadhi (meditative absorption) in a more sattvic way. That is to say, while all vrittis eventually cease on the path to samadhi, these positive ones are more helpful on the path. Right knowledge would be something hat helps us see the truth of the nature of reality, instead of keeping us stuck in the old imprinting of our experience. Right knowledge can come from direct experience~ what we know to be true from experiencing it in our bodies. Patanjali is telling us to trust our experience in the world through our bodies, not just the mind (or citta).

These samskaras, this patterning, therefore frames our view of the world, and our experience of it. So if we change our samskaras, make them inactive or burn through them, release them, that frees us up to change our point of view. We can have a new way of being in the world, of walking our path, of living our experience.

And, if we consciously work toward replacing the negative mind chatter (vrittis) that keeps us locked into our habitual patterning, we can further move toward being free to experience the moment as it is, as opposed to experiencing it through filters of the past.

In essence, the path of yoga is unique in that it not only gives us tools to release samskaras (old patterning), but also ways to prevent forming new negative ones. This is why yoga helps us feel lighter and more awake and open to the present. Why we feel just a bit more free, just a bit more calm, with practice.

12/09/2011

I have a new post up over at Elephant Journal, all about using tonic herbs to support a successful meditation practice (if there is such a thing...). And as usual, you can always find my pieces at Elephant over in my sidebar.

I will be adding new public classes starting next week: Tuesday/ Thursday at 9 AM starting on Decemeber 13th over at a new studio space, Pleasure Point Yoga. This class will be all levels, and the space is so beautiful, I can't wait to see you there! First class there is this Saturday at 4 PM for you locals~ we would love to see you!

Starting January 2nd, I will teaching Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 9 AM over at Santa Cruz Yoga, where I teach Tuesday and Thursday nights— this will be a level 2-3 flow, and full of fun challenge!